INSIDE
WW W.
AU G.
17 -24
GO EA
ST ER
NO RE
GO N.C
FAT STOCK SALE AT COUNTY FAIR SETS NEW RECORD, A16
er Day
“Pione ent that
is an ev us to look
w
allo s the past
d
towar ciate the
re
to app .”
nt
prese
$1.50
brate
Cele
ir
e
Cov erry Fa
Ch 3
OM
PA G
, 20 22
E
Taste
n
Me s lo t
Fe
eer
Pion ay
D
PA G
E 7
n
Liste
Jaz o z
Tri
PA G
E 4
at
new
thing
’s
some
seum
Learn
on Mu
Left:
.
Stati
age
g. 20
Herit
y, Au
er Da
en
Pione
nhag
E
ITA G
HER
IO N
S TAT U M ’S
E
MUS AL
U
ANN
NT
EVE
S
URN
RET 8
E
A
P G
Grue oto
non
Shan ibuted Ph
Contr
138th Year, No. 14
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
WALLOWA.COM
STORM LEAVES TRAIL OF DAMAGE
Craig
Yaw
Enterprise
Farrier enjoys
peace and
quiet of county
ENTERPRISE — Craig Yaw
moved his family from Molalla
six years ago in the dead of
winter, but that has a lot to do
with why they stayed.
“It was wintertime, we
came into a foot and a half
of snow,” he said. “There was
hardly any people and we
knew it was the spot to be.
One way in and one way out.”
A farrier by trade for 30
years, he also owns small busi-
nesses in Joseph — a laundro-
mat, car wash and a couple
vacation rentals.
Craig and wife, Kathleen,
have three daughters.
He said his favorite thing
about Wallowa County is the
camaraderie of the commu-
nity and community eff ort
that breeds.
He doesn’t expect to do
a lot of “playing” during the
summer, but he will have a lot
of horseshoeing work to do.
“I’m just looking forward
to getting through the sum-
mer and into the fall,” he said.
“Summer’s work for us; fall’s
when we can take off a bit of
time.”
With his kids involved in
the Wallowa County Fair, he
said his favorite part of the fair
is the junior rodeo.
Among the food vendors,
he said his favorite are the
hamburgers.
With the increased fi re
restrictions imposed by the
Oregon Department of For-
estry, Yaw said he’s not
worried.
“I’m not the worrying type,”
he said.
He believes his own expe-
rience would serve as a good
example for anyone thinking
about moving here.
“Come out in the win-
ter and see how it is,” he said.
“And you’ve got to bring your
job with you. But we just really
enjoy the pace of life here.
It reminds us of the Oregon
Coast when we were kids in
the ’70s.”
— Bill Bradshaw,
Wallowa County Chieftain
This photo, submitted by Nicole Bellows,
of Lostine, shows unique storm clouds
rolling through Wallowa County on
Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022.
Nicole Bellows/Contributed Photo
Storm shatters glass, downs trees, damages buildings
By ANDREW CUTLER,
BILL BRADSHAW and PHIL
WRIGHT
Wallowa County Chieftain
W
ALLOWA — Bruce Eien
said he remembers feeling
a sense of deja vu Thursday,
Aug. 11, in the aftermath of
the severe storm that rolled
through Wallowa County.
“It looked like how people were
walking around after 9/11 — in a
daze,” he said. “That’s exactly what
it was.”
The Enterprise resident, who has
family who live in Wallowa, where
much of the damage from large
hail was centered, was touring the
county to look at the damage in the
aftermath of the storm.
“We were driving around,
checking on all of the people we
knew,” he said, “making sure they
were OK.”
Earlier in the day, the National
Weather Service in Pendleton
issued a severe thunderstorm warn-
ing for much of Wallowa County
until 5 p.m. Aug. 11. The warn-
ing included 2-inch-sized hail and
winds up to 50 mph. Camden Plun-
kett, a meteorologist for the weather
service, said there were reports of
baseball-sized hail in the county.
“For the hail that was received
in Wallowa County, we are leaning
toward tennis-ball sized hail up to
2½ inches,” he said. “We did also
have some reports of ping pong
ball-sized hail about 1.5 inches in
La Grande as well.”
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Staff at Wallowa Memorial Hos-
pital in Enterprise confi rmed the
hospital treated “multiple” patients
for injuries from the hailstones.
Staff also reported how unusual
this was, with one commenting she
has lived in Eastern Oregon more
than 40 years and this was a fi rst
for her.
Hulse said Aug. 15 that the last
report he heard was that there were
six to 10 minor injuries, one of
whom was hospitalized. He said he
hadn’t heard an update on that injury.
WALLOWA — When
disaster strikes, Wallowa
County comes together.
That’s what happened
during and after the hail
and wind storm that struck
Thursday, Aug. 11.
“That’s one good thing
we still have in this coun-
try,” said county Commis-
sioner Susan Roberts, who
grew up on a ranch near
Wallowa. “We have a lot of
people who come together
to help.”
Sheriff Joel Fish said
numerous individuals and
businesses turned out to help
their neighbors.
“People jumped in and
stepped up to the plate last
night to help people who
couldn’t board up win-
dows,” Fish said Friday.
“There were so many people
helping, I can’t tell you who
all helped and did things.”
See Damage, Page A8
See Help, Page A8
Bruce Eien/Contributed Photo
The windshields of several vehicles in Wallowa bear the damage Thursday,
Aug. 11, 2022, from large hail stones. A severe storm that rolled through
Wallowa County produced tennis-ball-sized hail, according to the National
Weather Service offi ce in Pendleton.
Staff at Wallowa City Hall, who
were in town during the storm, said
they saw and heard of even larger
hailstones. Mayor Gary Hulse and
City Administrator Carolyn Harsh-
fi eld both said they heard reports of
“baseball-sized hailstones.”
Plunkett said his offi ce did hear
about multiple injuries as a result
of the hail, something Eien said
he’s heard while he was in Wal-
lowa as well.
“We are hoping everyone is
all right,” he said, adding the
county also received “frequent
lightning strikes.”
Bentz explains his positions for local voters
Congressman holds
town hall meeting
in Enterprise
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — Before taking
questions from a group of about 30
Wallowa County residents on Thurs-
day, Aug 11, U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz
gave a little of his background.
A third-generation rancher
from Southeast Oregon, where
his Texan grandfather settled, he
went onto college at Eastern Ore-
gon University, got a law degree
at Lewis & Clark Law School and
practiced law for 30 years, fi rst
in litigation and trial law, then on
water, ranches and the reorganiza-
tion of ranches.
The freshman Republican who
served 12 years in the Oregon
Legislature discussed the possi-
bility that the GOP might retake
control of the U.S. House during
the November elections. But that
comes with a challenge.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
See Bentz, Page A7
Basey Dawson, a member of the 2022 Wallowa County Fair court and of the Joseph FFA, introduces her market
cow, MAGA, to U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz after Bentz’s town hall Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in Enterprise.